Welsh meat industry ‘pleased’ with food name protection talks

Aaron McDonald
· 20 January, 2017

Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) has welcomed progressive talks in Westminster over securing the food name protection given to Welsh Lamb, Welsh Beef and other products as the UK leaves the European Union.

HCC joined the UK Protected Food Name (PFN) Association to meet with the Agriculture Minister George Eustice at the Department for Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) in London to discuss what would happen to protected food name statuses following Brexit.

Representatives from the food and drink industry from Cornwall, Kent, Jersey, Shetland and Anglesey were among representatives in attendance to defend their products, worth hundreds of millions of pounds in exports. Delegates want to see an equivalent scheme passed into UK law to secure brands’ future protection.

“The PGI status enjoyed by Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef place our products in the same category as premium goods such as Champagne,” explained Gwyn Howells, chief executive of HCC.

“As well as protecting our meat against imitation and giving customers confidence in its authenticity and traceability, the PGI status has been a cornerstone of marketing efforts which have seen lamb rise from £57 million in 2004 to £133m in the space of a decade. I was pleased to hear the minister confirm that the government would work to introduce an equivalent scheme in UK law which would allow Welsh Beef, Welsh Lamb and other protected foods to retain their status in the same as other non-EU goods such as Colombian Coffee.

“A seamless transition is what’s needed, to ensure continuity in marketing efforts in Britain, Europe and beyond,” he added. “I look forward to Defra continuing to work on the replacement scheme, along with the PFN Association and the devolved governments.”